


Out of Time

by NellyHarrison



Series: Everyone Loves Felicity Smoak [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Captain America - All Media Types, DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Drinking, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Time Travel, World War II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-28 12:12:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15048761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NellyHarrison/pseuds/NellyHarrison
Summary: When an accident sends Felicity Smoak back in time, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with a national hero.





	Out of Time

**Author's Note:**

> So I kind of messed with canon a little. This takes place after the Legends form, after Felicity and Oliver broke off their engagement, and before Age of Ultron.

“Sara!” Felicity screamed as a blast ripped through the Waverider, creating a hole in the side of the ship.  She tried to cling to the chair she had been standing near, but the pressure was too great, and she was sucked out and thrown into the timeline.  She wasn’t sure if the rush of it all had caused her to pass out or if her landing had knocked her out, but the next thing she remembered was the sound of voices as she was surrounded by darkness.

“What is she wearing?” one voice said, some chuckles following nearby.

“Don’t be rude, Buck.  Just because you’re an army man doesn’t mean you can forget the manners your mama taught you,” a different voice reminded, the sound of clothes ruffling as whoever had spoken turned, causing the laughter to stop abruptly.

“Wha…” Felicity groaned, blinking her eyes open and finding herself surrounded by a group of men.  The man closest to her had short, tidily-kept hair, and a strange blue tactical suit with a star in the middle of his chest.  He was kneeling beside her, offering a kind smile in what she could only assume was an attempt to keep her calm. Over his shoulder was a man with messy brown hair and a curious look in his eyes as he looked down at her, the rest of the men in the group a few steps back.  All of them looked to be in some sort of military gear, with guns either in their hands or strapped to them. Wherever she was, a war was clearly going on. “Where am I?”

“Just a few miles from the front, ma’am.  Do you remember your name?” the blond man asked, helping her sit up with a gentle touch before Felicity reached up to touch her head.

“Felicity,” she told him, trying to make sense of everything.  Due to her fall, her head was pounding, making her usual capabilities in thinking slower than normal.  “Which… Which front?”

“Felicity,” he repeated, the name sounding rather nice coming from him.  “I’m Steve. It seems you hit your head pretty hard. We’re in Italy. I think we should take you back to our base, get you checked out, and make sure you’re okay.  Then, I’m sure we can help you find your way back home… Are you okay?”

The moment he had said they were in Italy, the pieces began to fall into place.  The Italian front. The uniform. The way they talked. His _face_.  She was talking to Captain America himself, and since Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes was alive behind him with the rest of the Howling Commandos, that meant that she had landed in the middle of World War II.  That thought immediately triggered a panic, her chest starting to rise and fall rapidly as her eyes grew wide. She was in a time without very much technology, and anyone that might be able to help her get home hadn’t been born yet.  Worse than that, she was a young Jewish woman, smack dab in the middle of the most famous genocide of her people in history. At his question, she shook her head, tears welling in her eyes as she tried to calm herself down.

“Felicity,” he said her name, placing his hand on her shoulder in a way that was familiar and yet foreign at the same time.  She met his eyes, hers still shiny with unshed tears, but the gesture was enough to bring her out of her spiral and push her to start to breath steadily again.  “I don’t know what happened to you or what you’ve been through, but I promise I will keep you safe.”

Felicity didn’t know if it was because she knew Captain America’s reputation or something more, but she believed him.  She believed that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her, and it was enough for her to calm down completely and nod her understanding.

“Good.  We should get out of here.  It’s going to be a long walk, but I’m sure the boys and I would be willing to carry you, if you would be comfortable with that,” Steve offered, helping her stand and keeping his hand on her arm until she felt stable enough.

“I can walk,” she insisted with a sharp nod.  She glanced down at her shoes and mentally cursed herself for wearing heels, but she wasn’t about to let a national hero carry her like a damsel in distress.

“I like her.  She’s got spunk,” Bucky commented, causing Felicity to smile softly.

“Ignore him.  He hasn’t been around ladies much since he joined up,” Steve joked, causing all but Bucky to laugh.

All things considered, Felicity thought she lasted pretty long in her heels.  She managed to keep up with the rest of the guys, but after a while, the combination of walking in heels, being ripped from the Waverider, and landing in 1943 had her growing sluggish.  She tried not to let it show, but she could tell from the way the Howling Commandos kept glancing her way that she was doing a terrible job.

“Are you sure you don’t want one of us to carry you?” Bucky asked, walking up beside her.  “You’d be surprised the kind of endurance Steve has since he became a super-soldier.”

“I have no doubt his endurance would be impressive…  Ugh my mouth has the worst way of phrasing things,” she grumbled, eliciting chuckles from everyone but Steve, who she swore she saw blush before he turned away.  “How much farther do we have to go?”

“At least another three miles,” Gabe replied, causing Felicity to groan.  “Welcome to the army, ma’am, where walking is at least 70% of the job.”

“Alright, fine.  My feet honestly might fall off if I go even one more mile,” she gave in, stopping and sighing in defeat.  She looked over at Steve and offered a sheepish smile before asking, “Do you mind?”

“Not at all, ma’am,” he assured her, walking over and scooping her up with ease.  He managed to do it so her skirt was between her legs and his hand, but because her skirt was rather short, her butt was basically resting on his arm.  “If I thought there was another way to-”

“No, it’s okay,” she interrupted, smiling softly.  She awkwardly kept her hands in her lap for a moment before looping her arms around his neck in a more comfortable position.  “If I had known the ‘Star-Spangled Man with the Plan’ was going to end up carrying me today, I would have worn my jeans instead.”

“I will admit, I’ve never met a dame who dresses quite like you,” Steve admitted.  “I mean a girl. A _woman_.”

“It’s okay, I get what you mean,” she replied, liking that he seemed to have a similar problem with articulating his thoughts.  “I’m not exactly from here. It’s a long, confusing story.”

“Can I at least ask what you were doing in the middle of the woods so close to the front?” he asked, looking down at her with genuine curiosity.

“I sort of… got dropped there?  I was going somewhere else, and I was separated from my friends.  I don’t really remember all of it. I just remember trying so hard to stay with them and then waking up surrounded by you guys,” she admitted, looking down at her lap for a moment.  She wished she could tell him more and stop being so vague, but she couldn’t risk altering history in any way. Steve was staring pensively down at her when she finally looked back up at him, causing her to raise her eyebrows before he looked away in embarrassment from being caught.  “I can tell you want to ask something. Go ahead. I might not answer, but it’s better to get it out of your system than bottle it up.”

He smiled kindly down at her before nodding and asking, “Are you Jewish, Felicity?”

Felicity inhaled sharply at the question, realizing what he must be thinking based on his own experiences and the political climate of the world she had been dropped in.  Unfortunately, she couldn’t deny it, and even if it meant misleading him into thinking she was trying to escape the Nazis, she nodded.

She watched as Steve’s jaw clenched, his head slowly nodding as he met the eyes of Bucky, who seemed stiffer than he had up until that point.  “Nothing’s going to happen to you, Felicity. Not anymore. You’re safe with us,” Steve promised, returning her attention to her.

Felicity was touched by his words, her head nodding as she managed a small smile.  She started growing tired, but she knew she couldn’t sleep until she was checked up for fear that she had a concussion.  However, that didn’t stop her from laying her head against Steve’s shoulder, the action causing him to blush slightly again.  They had fallen a bit behind the rest of the group, which gave her just enough privacy to quietly tease, “Do you always blush this much?”

Steve chuckled at the question, his cheeks growing a shade darker before he shook his head.  “It seems that I’m easily embarrassed being around such a beautiful woman,” he admitted, this time causing Felicity to blush.  “What did you used to do before the war?”

“I, um, I was part of a team.  We, uh, helped people. I provided technological and strategic assistance,” she explained.  Again, she was being incredibly vague, but it wasn’t like she could tell him that she had been part of a team of vigilantes defending a city seventy years in the future.

“You worked with technology?  What kind of technology?” he asked, clearly impressed but not nearly surprised over the fact that she was an intelligent woman like she would have expected in this day and age.

“Different things.  I helped create some of it.  I’ve always been really good with technology,” she admitted.  “When I was a kid, I used to take stuff apart just to put them back together for fun.”

“That’s impressive.  Perhaps, after you’re all healed, you could become an asset.  I’m sure Howard would enjoy having another technological mind around.”

“Do you mean Howard Stark?” she asked, remembering from her schoolbooks and personal research that the man had been involved in the war efforts.

“Oh no, don’t tell me you’re a fan,” he groaned, causing her to laugh softly.

“I think he has a brilliant mind, but from what I’ve heard, he has a bit of an ego,” she replied.  “I’ve dealt with enough men with egos to know how to handle him.”

The two continued talking for the rest of the time they walked, Felicity learning about Steve’s life before the war.  Not much had been known about Captain America pre-serum, so it was interesting getting to know the man behind the shield.  Despite being over half a century apart, they had a decent amount in common. They both grew up without their fathers, and while she didn’t lose her mother like he did, they both lived rather independent lives as young adults and on.  As young adults, they made a few stupid decisions that nearly got them both killed (getting into fights for him, cyber-hacktivism for her) and they both went through physical transformations for the better as young adults. Because Felicity had a love and appreciation for older movies and music, they shared some of the same taste in those categories, the two going into a lengthy conversation about Errol Flynn’s _Robin Hood_ that had them laughing together, drawing the attention of the rest of the group.

Finally, they broke through the trees, the Allied base appearing ahead with soldiers milling about, performing their various duties.  At Felicity’s insistence, Steve placed her back on the ground and she walked with them to the main tent, where she met Colonel Phillips and Agent Carter.  At the colonel’s insistence, Peggy led Felicity to her quarters, where they would share the space until they decided to give her a space of her own. As the two women were leaving, Felicity glanced back at the men and found Steve watching her go.  She offered a small, reassuring smile before shifting her focus back to Peggy as they continued walking.

* * *

 

The next few days were a bit of a whirlwind.  Felicity was given clothing that was more time-appropriate and had to be interrogated to make sure she wasn’t an Axis spy.  When she was deemed not a threat, she was allowed a bit more freedom. On one of her walks around the base, she came across some broken walkies and other equipment and decided to tinker with them.  Several hours later, Howard found her putting the finishing touches on the last broken item, everything enhanced just slightly to improve performance without changing them completely for the era. He was so impressed, he brought her to his workshop and gave her free reign to do as she pleased.  She settled in easily enough, helping to make sure everything functioned properly. As much as she wanted to create something new and more powerful, anything she invented could change the course of history, so she had to keep a lot of her knowledge under wraps.

During her time at the base, she hung out as much as she could with Steve.  He was often off on missions, but any time he was back, they would find their way to each other and talk about what they had been up to in their time apart.  They shared meals, often sitting beside or across from each other. They joked about the others on the base. They talked about their hopes and dreams, most of which were hinging on the outcome of the war.  Steve would tell her about the missions he had just been on, even if it wasn’t exactly allowed, and she would talk about the different equipment she was working on. Steve initially seemed rather jealous when she mentioned spending a lot of time with Howard, but when she assured him she wasn’t interested, he visibly relaxed.  Truth be told, she knew that Howard ended up marrying his wife Maria and had a son that would become Iron Man, so even if she was interested, she wouldn’t dare risk getting involved with him for fear that doing so would rid the world of the famous superhero and philanthropic genius. Besides, as much as she tried to stop herself, she had been slowly falling in love with Steve since that first day they met.

The day the Commandos left to capture Zola on the train, Felicity wanted to stop them.  She wanted to stop Bucky from going, because she knew what his fate was if he went. She had to force herself to look shocked when she was told the news, but the heartbreak she felt was genuine.  Bucky had become a decent friend of hers, and even though she knew he needed to die in order for the future to remain intact the way that it was, saying goodbye to him had been one of the hardest things she had to do.

When Steve disappeared after the debrief, Felicity knew where he would be and told Peggy she would bring him back.  Walking into the destroyed bar, she sighed heavily at the sight of him attempting to drink his problems away.

“Part of what the serum gave me was a heightened metabolism.  It helps my body process toxins quicker and more efficiently which means...” he muttered, tossing back another glass before shaking his head.  “I can’t get drunk.”

“That might be for the best,” she replied, moving to sit next to him and reaching over to stop his hand when he reached for the bottle once more.  “Steve…”

“I should have saved him,” he whispered brokenly, his head falling forward, causing her heart to sink.  She stood and moved into his space, pulling him close as she wrapped her arms around him. He buried his face in her stomach as he began crying, his hands gripping the fabric of her shirt at her back as she ran her fingers through his hair, trying to soothe him.

“You can’t save everyone, Steve.  Bucky knew that. He knew you did all that you could.  He knew the risks of this life. You can’t put this on yourself,” she insisted, her voice soft.  “Bucky would want you to keep fighting.” It took a few minutes, but eventually Steve calmed down enough to pull away, keeping his hands on Felicity’s sides as he looked up at her.  She gently reached up and wiped her thumbs along his cheeks, brushing his tears away. “I’m so sorry,” she spoke, her hand cupping his cheek. “I know what you’re going through and if I could, I would carry this pain for you.”

Steve’s hand covered hers on his cheek, his eyes closing for a moment before he turned and kissed the inside of her wrist.  “I don’t think I could do this without you, Felicity,” he admitted, meeting her eyes as he stood and took her hand in his. “I’m going to get Schmidt.  I’m going to take him down, and when this war’s over, I would really like to take you on a date.”

“What?” she asked, laughing breathlessly as her head shook in disbelief.

“All Bucky and I ever did back home, other than get into fights and fool around, was try to get dames.  Bucky was always so good at it, but between my size and my complete lack of skills when it came to women, I was a lost cause.  But then I met you,” he explained, reaching up to brush a stray hair behind her ear, his hand lingering as he gently rubbed her soft, blonde curls between his thumb and index finger.  “Being around you makes me forget there’s a war going on. You’re this light in the darkness. Bucky saw it. He actually threatened to ask you out himself if I didn’t make my move,” he admitted, both of them laughing softly.  “So will you? Go out with me?”

Felicity couldn’t help but smile as she nodded.  “I would love to.”

Except she knew what was coming.  She had known from the moment she met him what was going to happen to him.  She had wrote a paper about the sacrifice Captain America had made the day that he plunged the plane carrying a nuclear weapon into the ice to avoid killing millions.  But she hadn’t known Captain America back then. She hadn’t known that he was one of the kindest, bravest, and most amazing men she would ever meet. She hadn’t know that she would fall in love with the Star-Spangled Man with the Plan that would sacrifice himself for the greater good.

* * *

 

When the day came, she wanted to stop him.  She was actually pacing outside of his tent when he came out and found her.  The moment she saw him, she started crying, a soft sob escaping her when he pulled her into his arms and held her close.

“Felicity, what’s wrong?  Did something happen?” he asked, rubbing her back before lifting her chin, forcing her to look at him.

“I haven’t been completely honest with you,” she admitted, her stomach twisting.  A small voice that sounded oddly like Ray told her this was a bad idea, but she ignored it.  “I told you when we met that I wasn’t from here, and that was true, but I didn’t just mean I wasn’t from Italy,” she started to explain, taking a deep breath before meeting his eyes, her expression serious.  “I’m from the future. I don’t want to give too much information away, and I know that telling you this much could change everything, but I don’t care. Steve, when you go to take down Schmidt, you’re going to die.  And I can’t- I don’t-” Steve silenced her stammering with a gentle kiss, causing her to inhale sharply before melting into the embrace. When they pulled apart, her stomach was fluttering instead of twisting like it had been.  “Why did you do that?”

“Because I didn’t want to die without having kissed you,” he replied, causing her to pull away from him completely.

“You’re still going to go after Schmidt, even though I just told you what will happen?  Why?” she asked, growing a little angry with him.

“I need to stop him, Felicity.  I will do whatever it takes, and if that means I have to die, then I will do so.  My life is not worth more than all of the ones that he will destroy if I don’t take him down, and you know that,” he reminded, stepping closer and cupping her face in his hands.  “I’m sorry we didn’t have more time, but I am so grateful for the time we did have. I know I promised that I would protect you, and I’m sorry I won’t be around to do that, but Howard and Peggy will make sure you stay safe after I’m gone,” he assured her, using his thumbs to brush away her tears as they fell.  “You are a remarkable woman, Felicity, and I would have happily spent this day and every single one after being the man that got to love you.”

It was Felicity’s turn to kiss him, her arms wrapping around his shoulders as she lifted herself on her tiptoes to meet his lips in a deep, emotionally passionate kiss.  In the distance, there was a flash, as Howard Stark sneakily captured their private last moments together. As they parted, he leaned his forehead against his and gently kissed her nose.  “I don’t want you to go,” she whispered, her heart clenching at the thought.

“Neither do I,” he replied, opening his eyes to meet hers, showing her how much this was killing him.  He went to say something, but at that moment, Colonel Phillips called his name. They pulled away and turned towards the man, who alerted them that it was time to go.  Steve nodded, then gave Felicity one last kiss before leaving her.

Peggy told her everything when she came back, but she didn’t need to.  No one would believe her if she told them, but she could feel the moment that Steve was gone.  It was like in one moment, there had been a string connecting her to Steve, and in another, it had been severed, and it had her breaking down in her quarters.  “He told me to tell you he was sorry, and that you would always be his girl,” Peggy told her, her voice soft and remorseful. She left after that, leaving Felicity alone and heartbroken once more.

In the year or so that followed, the war ended, and Felicity was brought back to New York with Howard.  He helped her get her own apartment and opened up a lab in his building for her to experiment. Despite her attempt to change history with Steve, she went back to flying under the radar, sticking to helping guide Howard’s current projects in the right direction without doing too much.  On the anniversary of Steve’s death, Time published an article honoring him. As she flipped through, she came across a picture. Of her and Steve. Her brows furrowed, her head shaking in confusion as she blinked at it a few times. She remembered reading this article back when she had been in school, and there had never been a photo of her there before.  She read the caption and immediately stood up and stormed out of her lab.

“You took a photo of me without my permission?” she nearly shouted as she walked into Howard’s office, anger radiating off of her.

“Yes, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but after Steve died, you were a mess and I figured it would hurt you more if I showed it to you.  When the magazine asked for photos of us on the front, I forgot I had taken it, and it got sent to them by mistake,” Howard explained, standing from his seat and walking around his desk to stand before her.  “No one but the people at the base knew what he meant to you, and what you meant to him. Steve would have wanted people to know how much he cared about you, Felicity,” he told her, reaching over and placing a hand on her shoulder in comfort.

Felicity glanced back down at the photo and sighed heavily, then looked back up at Howard with tears in her eyes.  “I loved him,” she muttered, letting him pull her into a hug before she began full-on crying. She had done her best to stay strong all day, but all it took was seeing the evidence of what she had lost for her to lose that control.

“I know, Lis.  I know,” he assured her, rubbing her back and letting her cry.  Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Howard’s assistant popped her head into the office.  “What is it?”

“Sir, there’s a Miss Sara Lance here to see Felicity,” she told them, causing Felicity to stiffen, her eyes widening comically.  “Should I send her away or..?”

“No!” Felicity exclaimed, blushing softly when Howard looked down at her in surprise at her outburst.  She began smiling and turned to give Howard a big hug. “This is going to make no sense to you, but I need to go.  And you probably will never see me again which, I know, sounds incredibly suspicious, but I swear that I’ll be okay.  I’m going home,” she assured him, her eyes bright in a way they hadn’t been in over a year. That alone was comfort enough to Howard for him to nod his acceptance of her leaving.  “Thank you, Howard. You’ve been a dear friend of mine, and I will truly miss you,” she added, giving him a friendly kiss on the cheek before stepping away and towards the door. “Don’t stop inventing, okay?  You’re a genius and I know you’re going to create amazing things.” With that, she left, and as she had said, she was never seen again.

* * *

 

Being in her present again was a culture shock, and it took her awhile to get back into the swing of things.  Everyone seemed to be walking on eggshells around her, and she could only imagine it had to do with how they had managed to find her.  Sara had told her that the moment they realized that she was gone, they had started looking for her, but it took a few weeks before Howard’s photo of her and Steve surfaced and her name popped up in their searches.  Her friend had tried to comfort her about her loss, but if a year on her own hadn’t helped heal her aching heart, she wasn’t sure anything would. Oliver was stiffer than normal around her, and she figured that was her fault.  When she had left, she had just broken their engagement, and now she was hung up on a man that had died seventy years ago. It wasn’t fair to him, or the rest of the team for that matter. She was considering just quitting altogether when an offer came in that she couldn’t turn down.

“What do you mean you’re leaving?” Oliver growled, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Tony Stark called and asked for my help on a confidential project,” she explained.  “Look, I know things have been off since I came back. I’m sorry that I’m not the same person that I was when I left, but you guys have found a way to do this without me.  You don’t need me anymore, but he does. I could do some real good, some world-saving good, and after everything I’ve been through, I think I need that. I don’t expect you guys to fully understand, but I need to do this.  I tried to fall back into the way things were before I left, but I can’t. I’m sorry, I need to go.”

There were several solid beats of silence before Diggle began walking over to her.  “You do what you need to do. We’ll support you no matter what, and if you ever feel ready to come back, you know you’ll be welcomed back with open arms,” he assured her, pulling her in for a hug.

“Thank you,” she replied, squeezing him tightly.  “I’ll only be a phone call away if anything goes wrong, and I’ll check in every chance I get.  I might be gone, but it’ll take more than being across the country for you to get rid of me completely.”  Digg chuckled and let her go, leading the rest of the team out of the Foundry after they said their goodbyes, leaving her alone with Oliver.

“You’re upset with me,” she stated, her hands clasping in front of her as she waited for his response.

“Yes.  No. I don’t know,” he admitted between pauses, sighing as he rubbed the back of his neck.  “I don’t want you to go.”

Felicity winced at the words, as they had been the last ones she had said to Steve before he left.  “I need to find a way to heal, Oliver. I think doing this will help me do that. This doesn’t have to be forever.”

“I know,” he nodded.  “I don’t know everything you’ve been through, but I understand needing space from your past life to find out how to live in the present again.  What Digg said was true. If you’re ever ready to come back, we’ll be here.”

“Thank you,” she replied, hesitating before walking over and giving him a hug.  “Try not to get yourself killed, alright? Don’t think I won’t come back here and kick your ass for being reckless,” she warned, causing him to chuckle.

“Don’t worry.  I wouldn’t want to endure the wrath of Felicity Smoak,” he replied, leaning his head against hers for a moment before pulling away.  “Good luck with Stark. Knew him before the island. Total tool.”

“Oh yeah, like you weren’t back then,” she retorted, giving him a knowing look before making her way towards the stairs.  “Goodbye Oliver.”

“Bye Felicity.”  He remained where he was as he watched her leave, a silent hope that she would find the peace she deserved going with her.

* * *

 

“Who is this person again?” Natasha asked, sitting on the couch with Clint’s head in her lap while the archer played a game on his phone.

“A wonderful, blonde genius who I tried to headhunt out of college.  She foolishly went to Queen Consolidated instead, but now she’s unemployed and manages to keep the Green Arrow and his team in line, so I figured she’d make a great addition to ours,” Tony explained.

“ You hired a team counselor?” Clint read between the lines, raising a brow.  “And she worked for my copycat? I’m already judging her for her choice in archers.”

“She’s not _just_ a team counselor, although that will play a decent part of her job.  She is also an amazing hacker and a technological genius that will be fun for Bruce and I to play with.  If any of you scare her away, I will make sure JARVIS makes your life in the tower very miserable.”

“You already programmed him to scold us whenever we swear,” Steve piped in, sitting comfortably in the chair next to the couch.  “I’m not too sure what more you could do.”

“Oh, you haven’t seen Tony’s prank abilities,” Rhodey muttered, rubbing his forehead at the memories alone.

“I apologize for interrupting, but Miss Smoak has arrived and is on her way up now,” JARVIS announced.  The moment he said Felicity’s name, Steve shot to his feet, his heart racing.

“Woah, you okay Steve?” Sam asked, walking around the bar and towards his teammate.

“JARVIS, what is Miss Smoak’s first name?” Steve asked, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides.

“Felicity, sir,” JARVIS responded.  Just then, the elevator door opened and Felicity stepped into the room.  All it took was ten steps for her to see Steve, and then she stopped in her tracks.

“St-Steve?” she breathed, her hand covering her heart as it began to pound in her chest.  He moved towards her, ignoring all of the confusing looks from the rest of his team, not stopping until he was right before her.  She reached up and cupped his cheek, his eyes falling closed as he covered her hand with his own and turned his head to kiss the inside of her wrist like he had so many years ago.  “How is this possible?”

“I guess because of the serum, when I crashed into the ice and my body froze, I was able to survive.  I was found and woken up a few years ago, but I didn’t want to look for you because even if I found you, it might not have been the you I knew.  I figured you had been left in the past and I couldn’t…” he trailed off, shaking his head. “I’m sorry.”

“Shh, don’t be,” she assured him, tearing up as she finally accepted that this was real and they were together again.  “We’re together now. That’s all that matters.”

Steve smiled before scooping her up and kissing her deeply, stunning everyone else in the room.  Their kiss was deep and loving, picking up right where they had left off seventy years ago. They remained in their embrace for several moments before finally pulling away, bright, happy smiles on their faces as they stayed in each other’s arms before they were interrupted.

“Um, will one of you please explain what’s going on?  How do you two know each other? How did Steve learn to kiss like that?  Is anyone else slightly aroused?” Tony asked, the last question causing everyone to roll their eyes.

Felicity looked up at Steve, raising an eyebrow in a silent question of whether he wanted to be the one to tell them.  Steve gave her a quick kiss before taking her hand and leading her over to where the team was gathered. “This is Felicity Smoak.  We met during World War II. She had been thrown back in time, in a manner I still don’t really know,” he stated, glancing down at Felicity who smiled awkwardly.  “Between missions, she and I would spend a lot of our time together and over that time, I fell in love with her,” he admitted, his eyes still locked on hers, his smile growing when Felicity began tearing up.  “The day I left to take down Schmidt and inevitably crash into the ice, she tried to stop me. She told me who she really was, even though she knew it could change the course of time. The one regret I had going into the ice was that I never got to tell her that I loved her.  And now I do,” he stated, brushing some stray hair behind her ear before playing with her curls like he had that night in the broken down bar. “I love you, Felicity Smoak. I did seventy years ago and I will for the rest of the years to come.”

“I love you too,” she told him, shaking her head in disbelief over how unreal her life had just become before accepting the sweet kiss he gave her in response.  “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“And I’m not going anywhere,” he promised, kissing her cheek before facing his team once more.  “Any questions?”

Tony lifted his hand, then pointed a finger at Felicity.  “You’re the same Felicity from the magazine?”

“Magazine?” Steve asked, brows furrowing.

Felicity sighed and glanced up at Steve first.  “Howard got a photograph of that kiss before you left.  A year after you passed, Time published an article memorializing you and the photo was included by accident,” she explained before shifting her attention to Tony.  “To answer your question, yes. I am the same Felicity from the magazine. I nearly killed your father for taking that and not telling me.”

“My dad talked about you almost as much as he did about this guy,” Tony grumbled, his finger now pointed at Steve before he let his hand fall.  “So you two are… This is a real thing then?”

“Well we haven’t technically been on a first date yet, but I think that’s something that can be arranged now that we’re together,” Steve mused, pulling Felicity close.  “So yes, I would say that this is a real thing.”

“You two haven’t been on a _date_ yet?” Sam asked, brows raised.  “Seriously man?”

“We had planned one for after the war ended, but I didn’t make it that far,” Steve replied, frowning at the reminder.  They had been apart for so long, but all it took was Felicity squeezing his hand for him to feel better.

“I think it is rather romantic,” Thor declared, looking like a lovesick puppy as he watched the couple.  “Perhaps we should let them get reacquainted with each other.”

“That’s a great idea,” Felicity decided, taking Steve’s hand and starting to lead him back to the elevator.  “I assume you have an apartment in this giant building?”

“I do,” Steve chuckled, letting his petite love lead him.  As if he wouldn’t follow her to the ends of the earth anyways.

“Perfect,” she replied, smiling almost lavisciously up at him.  “Tony, I’ll start work tomorrow. Nice to meet you guys! Looking forward to getting to know you all better!” she rushed out just in time as the elevator doors closed.

There was a long pause after they had left, everyone trying to wrap their minds around everything that had just happened before Tony finally blurted out, “Is she going to deflower a national icon?!”

**Author's Note:**

> I may return to this story and add glimpses of Steve and Felicity's life together in the future as it was so fun to write in the first place. I hope you liked it! If you have any comments or questions, reviews area always welcome :)


End file.
